The Montado (Cork and Holm oak woodland)

Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência

Lisboa, Portugal

A visit to the Montado (Cork and Holm oak woodland) in the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência

The Montado is a woodland ecosystem in which cereal crops, pasture land or Meso-Mediterranean arborescent matorral, in juxtaposition or rotation, are shaded by a fairly closed to very open canopy of native evergreen oaks, namely Cork and Holm oaks.

In Portugal, Cork oak and Holm oak woodlands cover approximately 1.2 million ha from the Alentejo, in the central part of the country, to the Algarve in the south, including some non negligible areas in the center-east and northeast region (see maps below). As such, they represent 36% Portugal’s "forested area", in a sparsely populated region with ca. 5% of the population but with one of the country's (and the world’s) largest agricultural exports as cork. Additional biological products from these woodlands are the acorn (from Holm oak), herbaceous forage and specific cattle breeds such as the black Iberian pig and the gravanesa cow.

Other commercial benefits arrive from charcoal production, cereal crop cultivation, honey production and wild mushroom picking. Aromatic/medicinal plants that grow in the understory layers also are used for industrial tannins and resin ladano production.

Acorn and cork from Cork oak

Quercus rotundifolia and Quercus suber distribution in Portugal. Adapted from the National Forest Authority data. March 2001.

Cork oak (Quercus suber) Holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia)

Oaks from this ecosystem can grow up to a height of 82 feet and live for up to three hundred years, continuously serving the local populations, who periodically strip the bark of the Cork oak. This unique bark (cork) protects the tree both from cold winters and from fires in the dry summers, characteristic of the Mediterranean regions. Moreover, Cork oak trees act via biological processes to modify soil properties in the ecosystem. They enrich the soil in nutrients, attract different types of animals that supplement this modification, alter bulk density and porosity, and, thereby, increase the available soil stored water. Traditional methods of understory clearing have been replaced by effective mechanized ploughing to reduce understory fuel and thus the risk of fire exposure and damage.

A typical Montado landscape is illustrated below:

In Portugal the harvest of cork began in the 19th century on an industrial scale. In that period selective thinning and low density cultivation techniques were introduced to make use of the ground for farming. At the end of the 19th century, the Portuguese cork oak forests were considered the best managed in the world. 

In these woodlands people use the forest and its biological products in a sustainable way to ensure the maintenance of the production. It is also the increase in the planting of Cork oak and Holm oak that is believed to lead to a reduction in soil erosion in southern Portugal. New and old Oak forests provide a livelihood for local populations. It is well know that the present and near future of locals are dependent on the harvesting of cork and on the maintenance of high biodiversity and functional complexity of these forests.

Fauna of the Montado

The Cork oak and Holm Oak woodlands ensure a high biodiversity of wild fauna, including approximately 53% of Portuguese species of reptiles and amphibians, more than 160 bird species, and approximately 60% of the Portuguese species of mammals.

Examples of animals commonly found in these woodlands include lizards, snakes, frogs, buzzards, kites, eagles, owls, magpies, hoopoes, bee-eaters, passerines, cranes in the winter, rabbits and hares, foxes, weasels, genets, wild boars, deer and some protected species like the Cabrera's Vole or some bat and bird species.

Some of these species exist in the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência collection:

Scientific name: Vulpes vulpesFamily : CanidaeCommon name: Red foxDistribution : North America; North Africa and Euroasia Conservation status : Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Herpestes ichneumonFamily : Herpestidae Common name: Egyptian mongoose Distribution : Egypt, Iberian peninsula, Israel and sub-Saharan Africa Conservation status : Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Genetta genettaFamily : ViverridaeCommon name: Common genetDistribution : Africa, West of the Arabian peninsula; Northern Palestinian; Iberian peninsula and France Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Meles meles

Family: Mustelidae

Common name: European badger

Distribution: Europe

Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Sus scrofa

Family: Suidae

Common name: Wild boar

Distribution: Northern and Central Europe, the Mediterranean

Region and Asia

Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Additional information on these species can be found in: http://carnivora.fc.ul.pt/especies/asespecies.htm

Scientific name: Mustela nivalis

Family : Mustelidae

Common name: Least weasel

Distribution : Eurasia, North America and North Africa

Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Microtus cabrerae Thomas, 1906

Family: Cricetidae

Common name: Cabrera's vole

Distribution: Occurs in the Iberian Peninsula with a very fragmented distribution

Conservation status: Vulnerable in the Portuguese Vertebrate Red Book and

Near Threatened in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN.

Scientific name: : Buteo buteo

Family : Accipitridae

Common name: Common buzzard

Distribution : Europe and Asia

Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Hieraaetus pennatus

Family : Accipitridae

Common name: Booted eagle

Distribution: Southern Europe, North Africa and Asia. Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Merops apiaster

Family : Meropidae

Common name: European bee-eater

Distribution: Southern Europe

Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)

Scientific name: Alectoris rufa

Family :Phasianidae

Common name: Red-legged partridge

Distribution: Southwestern Europe, France and Iberian

Peninsula.

Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Cyanopica cyanus

Family : Corvidae

Common name: Azure-winged Magpie

Distribution: Southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula

Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Athene noctua

Family : Strigidae

Common name: Little Owl

Distribution: South Europe, Asia and North Africa

Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)

Scientific name: Fringilla coelebs

Family : Fringillidae

Common name: Chaffinch

Distribution: Europe, Asia and North Africa

Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)

Scientific name: Lacerta lepida Family : LacertidaeCommon name: Ocellated LizardDistribution : Iberian peninsula, West and Southeast of France and Northwest of ItalyConservation status: Least concern (LC)

Scientific name: Malpolon monspessulanus

Family :Colubridae

Common name: Montpellier snake

Distribution: Mediterranean basin

Conservation status: Least concern (LC)

Flora of the Montado

In Montado landscapes, plant diversity of the understory layers (when not used for cereal cultivation) can reach a level of more than 25 vascular plant species per square meter. Many of these species have aromatic, culinary or medicinal uses, including various types of lavender, oregano, rosemary, mint, etc.. The harvesting of these plants and subsequent processing is also an important economic resource for local people, besides cork extraction, cereal or acorn profit, forage for animals, honey or edible mushrooms.

Examples of herbaceous plants commonly found in the MontadoHerbarium sheets from the Museu Nacional de História Natural e

da Ciência

Echium plantagineum L.

Carlina racemosa L. Chamaemelum mixtum (L.) All.

Chrysanthemum segetum L. Diplotaxis catholica (L.) DC.

Raphanus raphanistrum L.

subsp. raphanistrum

Medicago nigra (L.)Krock. var. vulgaris (Benth.)

Franco

Trifolium aureum Pollich Papaver rhoeas L.

Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Daucus carota L. subsp. maritimus (Lam.) Batt.

Triticum aestivum L.

Avena sativa L. Torilis arvensis (Huds.) Link

Lolium rigidum Gaudich

Hordeum murinum L. susbsp. leporinum

(Link)Arcang.

Information on these species can be found in http://www.jb.utad.pt/pt/herbario/cons_reg.asp

The Cork oak

Scientific name: Quercus suber L.

Family : Fagaceae

Common name: Cork oak tree

Distribution: Endemic of Southwest Europe

(Portugal, southern Spain, southern France, Italy)

and North Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia).

Height : 10-20m

The Cork oak occurred in the Tertiary Era (between the Oligocene and Miocene) since the beginning of Mediterranean sea formation, 60 million years ago. In Portugal, Pliocene fossils of this species were found in the Alentejo (South of Portugal).

It is an evergreen tree. The Cork oak does not grow evenly during the year. In the winter, the tree canopy stay dormant. In the spring it returns to full activity extending to the end of summer.In Portugal, flowering happens between April and June and may continue for August and September.

This oak produces a suberous tissue (the cork) to involve the trunk and branches. This tissue has regenerative capacity and protects the tree against biotic and abiotic factors (fire) in its natural habitat. The cork extraction is a very important economic activity in Portugal and the cork oak is legally protected.

Some species of Montado exist in the Botanic Garden of the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência and in the Herbarium collection:

Scientific name: Quercus rotundifolia Lam.

Family : Fagaceae

Common name: Holm oak or Holly oak

Distribution : Native of Mediterranean region

Habitat: Mediterranean forests

Height : 27 m

This oak tree flowers from April to May. The male flowers are arranged in catkins while the female flowers are arranged in panicles. The fruits are acorns (big and sweet), used for animal forage (ex. black Iberian pig). The Holm Oak is an evergreen tree, with ragged spiny-toothed leaves when young and serrated leaves in adults.

Scientific name: Arbutus unedo L.

Family: Ericaceae

Common name: Strawberry Tree

Distribution: Mediterranean region, SW France and Ireland

Habitat: Mediterranean forests

Height: 5m

Scientific name : Rosmarinus officinalis L.

Family : Lamiaceae

Common name : Rosemary

Distribution : Mediterranean region

Habitat: Mediterranean forests

Height: 2 m

Scientific name: Erica arborea L.

Family : Ericaceae

Common name: Tree heath

Distribution : Mediterranean region; Macaronesian, N e E Africa.

Habitat: Mediterranean forests

Height : 1 - 4m

César Garcia

Scientific name : Cistus ladanifer L.

Family : Cistaceae

Common name : Brown-eyed Rockrose

Distribution : Native of the western Mediterranean region

Habitat: Mediterranean forests

Height : 1-2.50 m

Scientific name : Centaurea sphaerocephala L. ssp. polyacantha (Willd.) Dostál

Family : Asteriaceae

Distribution : Iberian Peninsula (endemic)

Habitat: Coastal thickets

Scientific name : Genista sp.

Family : Fabaceae

In the Botanic Garden:

Genista monspessulana (L.) L. Johnson: Mediterranean regionGenista triacanthos Brot.: Iberian Peninsula and NW MoroccoGenista tridentata L.: Iberian Peninsula

César Garcia

César Garcia

Palmira Carvalho

Scientific name : Zygodon forsteri (Dicks.)

Mitt.

Habitat: Holm oak woodland (high conservation

status in Portugal and Europe)

Scientific name : Dicranoweisia cirrata

(Hedw.) Lindb. Ex Milde

Habitat: Cork oak woodland

Scientific name : Flavoparmelia caperata (L.)

Hale

Habitat: Cork and Holm oak woodland

Threats to the Montado in Portugal due to bad human practices

•Deforestation and habitat destruction (for house building, even though the trees are legally protected)•Deforestation to plant exotic production (ex. Eucalyptus sp. for paper paste production)•Fire (increasing probability with global warming and fallow abandonment )•Desertification (increasing with global warming)•Increase of oak illnesses and plagues due to incorrect management during cork extraction and deep ploughing •Hunting and prey control (legally not authorized species)•Increase of cereal cultivation and modification of spatio-temporal mosaic rotation (fallow lands)•Increase of intensive agriculture and greenhouse farming•Increase in the use agro-chemicals •Negligible efforts for the recovery and restoration of high-value biodiversity rangelands•Absence of programs seeking for the conversion of Eucalyptus cultivations into natural forest•Absence of legislation preventing the devastation due to incorrect management practices•Absence of legislation and control for mushroom and fungi harvesting and use.

Some campaigns are already taking place to preserve regional ecosystems. Considering the Montado, a campaign was launched in Portugal for collecting bottle cork stoppers to recycle into corkboards, place mats, coasters, flooring, gaskets or insulation material:

http://www.greencork.org/index8.php?idlingua=1&idbanner=2&idlink=2&idcontador=14777&

Be active: disseminate the importance for regional ecosystems preservation and the good practices to achieve

such goal. Participate!